Four months after the first Skype 2.1 beta, a second beta has been released.

Skype 2.1 beta 2 (2.1.0.81) fixes a lot of stability and usability issues, and also brings the Linux Skype client much closer to what the other desktop clients have to offer. Screen sharing has also been finally introduced:

Enter "Talking Screens" - with screensharing. Now you can share your desktop with unprecedented ease. Share whole screen or a selected region - it's just one click away!

Other improvements include UI switching styles on the fly, audio is much better than before - or so say the Skype devs and many other tweaks and fixes. You can see the complete changelog, HERE. The changelog on that page states: "Last build: 20.01.2009 Skype version 2.1.0.81". That should of course be "2010", but this error basically shows the current Skype for Linux state: at least one year behind the builds for other operating system(s).

Note: to share your desktop: make a call first, and then in the call window look under the menu button:

Download Skype 2.1.0 beta 2 for Linux (packages available for Ubuntu (32 and 64bit), Debian, Fedora and openSUSE). Don't worry about it saying "Ubuntu Intrepid", it will work on Karmic too.